Associate Professor of Epidemiology

Eric Loucks joined Brown University and the PSTC in 2009. He focuses his research on identifying biological mechanisms by which social factors such as mindfulness, education, and early life adversity may influence cardiovascular disease. 

Trained in physiology and pharmacology with a focus on biological mechanisms of cardiovascular disease, as well as in social epidemiology, Loucks has has generated research findings that have helped to better understand how biological factors such as inflammatory markers, epigenetics, blood pressure, obesity, lipids, amongst others, may be important mechanisms through which social factors could influence cardiovascular disease.

Loucks has published more than 75 peer-reviewed publications, and received wide coverage of research findings in outlets such as TIME Magazine and BBC News. He uses epidemiological methodological techniques such as propensity score matching and mediation analyses to probe into plausible mechanisms that could explain social disparities in health. He is now increasingly moving into practical applications of the work, including randomized controlled trials of mindfulness interventions to address social disparities in cardiovascular disease. 

Selected Publications

Non, Amy L., Román, Jorge Carlos, Gross, Christopher L., Gilman, Stephen E., Loucks, Eric B., Buka, Stephen L., Kubzansky, Laura D. "Early childhood social disadvantage is associated with poor health behaviours in adulthood," Annals of human biology. 2016; 43 (2): 144-153.

Lacy ME, Wellenius GA, Carnethon MR, Loucks EB, Carson AP, Luo X, Kiefe CI, Gjelsvik A, Gunderson EP, Eaton CB, Wu WC. "Racial Differences in the Performance of Existing Risk Prediction Models for Incident Type 2 Diabetes: The CARDIA Study," Diabetes care. 2016; 39 (2): 285-91.

Slopen N, Loucks EB, Appleton AA, Kawachi I, Kubzansky LD, Non AL, Buka S, Gilman SE. "Early origins of inflammation: An examination of prenatal and childhood social adversity in a prospective cohort study," Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2015; 51: 403-13. 

Su S, Jimenez MP, Roberts CT, Loucks EB. "The Role of Adverse Childhood Experiences in Cardiovascular Disease Risk: a Review with Emphasis on Plausible Mechanisms," Current Cardiology Reports. 2015; 17 (10): 645. 

Scholarly Interests

Biomarkers, Coronary heart disease, Education, Epidemiology, Health

Affiliated Departments

School of Public Health